IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – His mother first fell sick a month ago with an illness she believes she caught at the Iowa egg factory where she works.
His younger sister, 22, was next – a new mother who was soon on a ventilator fighting for her life. Then the coronavirus came for his father, Jose Gabriel Martinez, 58, who died Tuesday in the same hospital where he lived his final days near his unknowing daughter.
After a month of caring for his virus-stricken family, firefighter Omar Martinez is now planning a funeral for his father, who was a factory worker known for giving his all to provide for his family. He’s hoping for the recovery of his sister Evelyn, who is alert after being taken off a ventilator Thursday. He’s dreading having to tell her the news about their dad.
Omar, 29, said he’s grateful that his mother has recovered and that he, two siblings and his 2-year-old niece have stayed healthy. He’s also touched by the support they’ve received from neighbors in West Liberty, a heavily Hispanic city of 3,800 where his family settled after immigrating from Mexico in the 1990s.
He wants people to know how easily the virus can spread if they infect others and how quickly that can devastate a family.